Bake A Bigger Pie

Now that’s advice you haven’t received from the cultivate blog before! Yes, I am suggesting that you not only bake a pie, but you bake a BIG one. Here’s why. Did you know that when a vampire bat finds a source for food, it is unable to take in more food than it needs? It naturally shares its food with another bat. You’re probably wondering, why are we talking about bats if this post is about baking pies? Sure it is, but before we get into the pies…

I learned this fact while reading a book called, The Power of Nice by Linda Thaler and Robin Koval. In one of my favorite chapters, the authors shared stories about artists, innovators, and businesses that were able to move in a more successful direction by simply sharing with others. The chapter was called, “Bake a Bigger Pie;” hence the title of today’s blog. Some of the most useful inventions, the ice cream cone, Post Its, even milk chocolate were created because the owners realized, we would both get more pie if we come together and bake a bigger one.

Debunking the notion that if you want to win you have to hoard all your resources, ideas, and strategies for yourself, these authors showed that we all win when everyone can enjoy a slice of pie. I was left with the question: How big of a pie are you baking?

Outside of what I do for Cultivating Kerri, I coach survivors of commercial sexual exploitation, more popularly known as sex trafficking. A huge chunk of my role is helping participants develop strategies to reach goals based on their own personal strengths.

While I consider my support to these survivors a wonderful privilege; I must say, helping them move in a more purposeful direction often cause me to question whether I'm on track for pursuing my own goals. I have always been passionate about helping others and I knew serving the underserved would be central to my career. However, if I were to be honest, there have been moments where I have looked around at my counterparts and wondered if helping others is as valuable as I thought it would be.

The Power of Nicehelped me to realize when I use the resources I have acquired over the years through education and experience to help another woman move forward, I am actually Baking A Bigger Pie. The seeds my co-workers and I are sowing help to change the trajectory of a woman's life; impacting not only the women we serve, but their children and future generations. Now that's BIG PIE! There is value in taking people along the journey with you.